Enfocus Software previews JDF and Job Ticket Support at drupa 2004

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Press release from the issuing company

Düsseldorf, Germany (drupa 2004), May 6, 2004 – Enfocus Software, the world leader in PDF workflow tools, is presenting at drupa 2004 a technology preview of how comprehensive Job Ticket and JDF support will be incorporated into the entire Enfocus product line.
Enfocus has always focused on the accuracy, efficiency and quality management of PDF files in graphic arts workflows. With Certified PDF at the core of its entire product line, Enfocus is the only company to offer true reliable inter-company file exchange from start to finish. Enfocus software products are used by both document creators and document receivers, and the company’s technology is integrated into many OEM partner products. This is the ideal position to address the next major issue for graphic arts PDF workflows: job ticketing.
“JDF will be a major topic at drupa 2004, and this key functionality will be incorporated into the Enfocus Certified PDF workflow, ensuring that job tickets are an integral part of every document receiver’s quality specifications,” says David van Driessche, Enfocus CEO. “The strategy we’re following with JDF is the same sensible approach we’ve consistently followed for PDF quality management. On the one hand, our support for job ticketing and JDF allows PDF workflows to be extended to include the original document creators—something that’s been missing until now. On the other hand, our approach will also prove useful for people who aren’t yet working with JDF, and may not be using it for a while.”
Highlights of the defined implementation are:
- Job ticket support will be integrated into the print queue used by Instant PDF 3.0. This print queue will contain the job ticket definition used by a document receiver in addition to current settings like job options and preflight settings. The print queue can then be published on CertifiedPDF.net.
- When a document creator subscribes to a print queue on CertifiedPDF.net, the job ticket definition is automatically downloaded.
- During the PDF creation process the user is prompted to fill out the job ticket, according to the guidelines in the job ticket definition. The data entered by the document creator is stored inside the PDF file.
- Enfocus Certified PDF technology ensures that at any time in the life cycle of the PDF, the included job ticket data will be compliant with the job ticket definition demanded by the document receiver. A file can only have a “green checkmark” if both the content and the job ticket data comply with their specification.
- As job ticket support is covered by Certified PDF technology, all edits relating to the job ticket stored in the PDF file are logged in the Certified PDF edit log.
- Job ticket information is stored in the PDF as XML. The Enfocus product line will support job ticket information extraction in different formats, including standard JDF, for easy integration with back-end MIS systems.
“Making job ticket support an integral part of the Enfocus Certified PDF workflow concept was a logical choice,” adds van Driessche. “Gathering that information only makes sense if it’s done according to the need of the document receiver. You have to allow this receiver to define, monitor and track the quality of the PDF and job ticket throughout the file’s life cycle, and that’s exactly why we invented Certified PDF in the first place.”
Enfocus shows technology preview of its job ticket and JDF implementation interoperating with various partners on CIP4’s JDF Parc
Enfocus is present at CIP4’s JDF Parc, a section within drupa’s Innovation Parc, where the company will show a technology preview of its job ticket implementation inter-operating with various vendors’ solutions in the JDF Parc. Based on extended versions of its leading products Instant PDF and PitStop Server, Enfocus will be demonstrating prototypes of its JDF and job ticket implementation with Agfa, Dalim Software, Esko-Graphics, Oce Printing Systems, Optimus, Screen and Vio.
The technology demo shows how a designer enters user, job and production data in a job ticket as part of the PDF creation process with Enfocus Instant PDF. This data is then inserted into the PDF file and Certified, after which the PDF is sent off to the receiver. At the receiving end, an extended version of PitStop Server extracts the job ticket data from the PDF and stores it in a JDF file. This JDF is then transferred to the prepress, MIS or online system of the partner company, to be used in further steps in the workflow.